pieces

The material pieces of our lives are not us. They may be reminiscent of us or help tell others how we perceive ourselves, but they are not us. The letting go of these possessions does not mean we are discarding loved ones. Our loved ones live in our hearts and our minds and our actions. They are there behind our eyes waiting for us to reminisce with them and laugh with them and even cry a little too. But things like clothing and cars and yes, even houses, those are just things. Our loved ones travel with us, no matter where the rest of our lives take us.

tummy troubles

Mitchell is still having issues with his stomach.  He's lucky if he gets one dose of the chemo down each day.  Symptoms continue to range from a "sour stomach" to cramps to nausea to sudden exhaustion.  The visit with the nutritionist seemed to be helpful, but it doesn't change that he is constantly struggling.  It struck me the other day that Mitchell's been going through treatment as long as Hayden's been alive. 

new developments

Pleurisy is Mitchell's newest cancer-related diagnosis...He'd been experiencing chest pain and ended up in the ER last Friday as a result.  He left with yet another prescription  and a vague understanding of exactly what the diagnosis meant. 

I myself am not sure exactly how this new ailment will impact him in the long run.  As soon as I saw his discharge paperwork, I was googling "pleurisy".  I did find out that pleura is an actual thing.  Also I discovered that it can be related to a variety of primary diagnoses, none of which being colorectal cancer.  Mitchell's visit to the ACC did reveal that the condition is sometimes related to pulmonary embolisms.